Polk County supervisors working other jobs alongside full-time role
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Supervisors Mark Holm and Jill Altringer. Photos: Courtesy of City of Ankeny and Altringer
Two newly elected Polk County supervisors say they plan to continue working their existing day jobs alongside their new county positions.
Why it matters: The supervisor position is considered full time and the board is expected to be "available to its constituency on a full-time basis," according to the county's website.
- Supervisors oversee the county's budgets, departments and overall operations.
State of play: Mark Holm says he plans to continue working his full-time job at the Iowa Department of Transportation alongside his county position, telling Axios he views his new role as a "four-year deal." As the father of young children, he says, he doesn't want to leave his DOT job until understanding the "full complexity" of the county role.
- He says he successfully served as the mayor of Ankeny from 2021 until now while also working his DOT position. He plans on using personal leave and adjusting his DOT work hours to meet the new supervisor demands.
- "I'm trying to be as transparent as I can because I do realize that it presents challenges, but being mayor also presented challenges," Holm tells Axios.
Plus: Jill Altringer, who is also newly elected, says she plans to continue as a contract lobbyist representing agriculture groups at the Iowa Legislature, which has varying time demands.
- She's taken on a partner to help her work at the capitol while she balances her new supervisor position, she tells Axios.
- Her lobbyist job can be demanding while lawmakers are in session, but she says her schedule is otherwise flexible. She says she balanced work and serving on the Grimes City Council, previously.
- "The reality is, it's going to be a very busy four months," Altringer says. "It's going to be a time-management thing."
Zoom in: Polk County supervisors earn $149,290 annually, along with the state's pension plan and health benefits.
- Holm earns $120,036 annually as a public services manager at the DOT, per public records.
- He tells Axios he plans on declining benefits from one of his employers, saying, "I see no value in having the taxpayers pay redundancy."
Context: Chair Matt McCoy and Supervisors Tom Hockensmith and Angela Connolly say their elected positions are their only full-time jobs.
- "I was elected by the voters as a full-time supervisor!" Connolly wrote in an email to Axios. "I have not had any other job in 24 years that I have been on the board!"
- McCoy says supervisors have historically "varied" in their decision to have multiple jobs or not.
Follow the money: Polk County's supervisors have regularly earned higher salaries than their counterparts in other similar-sized jurisdictions.
- In Kane County, a Chicago suburb, the board chair earned $105,328 in 2023.
- In Douglas County, Nebraska, an Omaha suburb, elected officials earned $58,815, per the Des Moines Register.